Nikkei closes at 5-month high

Japan’s Nikkei index closed at its highest level in more than five months on Wednesday as caution over the Bank of Japan’s policy stance faded after it did not provide any hints on when it would abandon its negative interest rate policy.

According to Reuters, the Nikkei rose 1.37% to close at 33,675.94 points, which is the highest closing level since July 3. The broader Topix index rose 0.67% to 2,349.38 points

“There was no indication from Bank of Japan Governor (Kazuo) Ueda regarding the timing of exiting the bank’s negative interest rate policy,” said Shotaro Yasuda, a market analyst at the Tokai Tokyo Research Institute.

He added, “Speculation about a shift in the Bank of Japan’s policy was affecting the Japanese market, which is why local stocks underperformed their American counterparts.” Now this caution has diminished.”

The Bank of Japan maintained its ultra-loose monetary policy on Tuesday, a move that was widely expected.

Shuji Hosui, chief strategist at Daiwa Securities, said that the Nikkei index rose because investors who bet on a decline in stocks before the Bank of Japan’s decision bought stocks again.

The shares of Fast Retailing, which owns the Uniqlo clothing brand, rose 3.92%, providing the greatest support to the Nikkei index.

Shin-Etsu Chemical, which manufactures silicon chips, jumped 4.08 percent, and Daikin Industries, which makes air conditioners, rose 3.1 percent.

The shipping sector rose 3.16%, becoming the largest gainer among 33 sector sub-indices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.